Sewing-machine attachment.



F. THOMAS. sewmc momma ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION HLD MAYIS. 1917- 1,250,935.

I 2 SHEETSSHEET l.

Patented Dec. 18, 1917.

F. THOMAS. SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15, I917. 1,250,935.

2 SHEETSSHEET Z.

Patented Dec. 18, 1917.

UNITED STATES PATENT ornron.

FREDERICK THOMAS, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENLLSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO LUCIUS N. LITTAUER, OF GLOVERSVILLE, NEW YORK.

SEWING-MACHINE ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 18, 1917.

Application filed May 15, 1917. Serial No. 168,629.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK THOMAS, a citizen of the'United State's, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Machine Attachments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sewing machine attachments, more particularly relating to that class thereof adapted to guide a binding strip previously stitched to form a loop into position to be attached to the tops and arm-holes of ladies vests and the like.

The object of the invention consists in providing an improved guiding device effective to guide an endless loop of material to the stitching mechanism of the sewing machine so that it may be attached to the edges of the arm-hole or neck opening of underwear and'the like, and which uiding device is so constructed that the binding strip may be quickly removed from the guide for the purpose of ending the stitching operation while the entire attachmentmay be readily shifted away from the stitching position, so as not to interfere with the hands of the operator in finishing the work.

Another object is the provision of an improved guiding device so formed that one part thereof can be withdrawn from the other for inserting and removing the binding strip in connection with locking means for holding the separable parts thereof in closed position together with means adapted to permit the swinging of the binder guide to and from the stitching position and which also is effective to lock and hold it in a fixed position, while the stitching proceeds, and means for limiting the movements of the attachment.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a top or plan view of the attachment, ap plied to the cloth plate of a sewing machine in position for the guiding and stitching operation. This view also shows in dotted lines the movable part of the binder guide shifted; Fig. 2 is also a top or plan view illustrating the binder attachment shifted away from the stitching mechanism; Fig. 3 is a front view of the attachment applied to the cloth plate of a sewing machine, looking in the direction'of the arrow of Fig. '1; Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the guiding part of the attachment with the binding strip in position and the binder open; F ig; 5 is a perspective view of the binderattachment with the binder closed and the endless loop of binding material in'position and illustrates the manner in which the strip is guided to the needles andstitching mechanism, while it is being stitched to the arm hole of a ladys vest; andFig. 6 is a view illustratin the finished work with armholes and neck of a ladys'vest hemmed or bound. 7

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

To simplify the description of this improved attachment, the stitching mechanism including all of the usual instrumentalities comprising the needles, loopers, throat plate, feed dog, presser foot, etc., are indicated generally by l. The cloth plate 2 has a slide plate 3 and pivotally secured to this slide plate by a vshoulder screw 5 for swinging movement isan arm 4 formed as a part of a guide'bracket 7. This guide bracket 7 is milled to form a slide-way 8 throughout its length to receive a slide 9 free to move therein. A top plate 10 is secured to the bracket 7 by screws 11, and a slot 12 is provided in this top plate 10 to receive a set screw 13 which is screwthreaded into an aperture 14: of the slide 9. A link 15 is pivotally secured by a shoulder screw 16, which passes through plate 10, to the bracket 7 as. at 17, so that this link 15 is free to swing. This link 15 has an upstanding portion 18 convenient for swinging the link by hand. A shoulder screw 19 connects the other end of this link 15 with one end of a link 20 which has its other end connected to the. slide 9 by the shoulder screw 13 so that as link 15' is swung from the full line position, Fig.1, (inwvhich position it'forms with link 20 substantially a toggle lever to the dotted line position, Fig. 1) the slide, 9 will be moved from the stitching position or needle line and thereby shift the back portion of the binder guide 21 therewithfrom the body of the binder. This back portion of the binder guide 21 is of U-shaped form tapering somewhat from its receiving end 22 to its delivery e11d'23; I The receiving end 22 'is-cut away at an angle with respect to its lengthto facilitate the guiding of the work. An extension or overlapping portion 24jis provided on the top and bottom walls of the back at the delivery end thereof (see Fig. 4) to prevent the material from being impinged where the two parts of the binder guide meet. The bracket 7 has a thin portion 26 extending forward toward the stitching position and this aflords a support forthe part which forms the inner or body portion of the binder guide indicated by 27. The bottom lip :29 of this body is secured to the extension 26 and the body is bent into U- shaped form as at 30 and has an overturned lip 31 on top thereof. The lips 29 and 31 have extensions 33 at the delivery end (see Figs. 2 and 4), which form guides for the edges 2% of the back and the strip of work 35. Secured to the cloth plate 2 for swinging movement by a shoulder screw 36 is a link 37, the other end of which is pivotally connected to a link 38 also by a shoulder screw 39. An upstanding portion 40 provides a means for manipulating the links. The link 38 has an ofiiset portion 11 so that its end 12 may rest on the plate 10 and this end 42 is pivotally. secured by a screw 43 to the bracket 7. The offset in the links is so arranged as to enable one part to miss the other in the movement of same. Attached to the front edge of the cloth plate 2 is a stop plate 44 (see Fig. 1) having an inclined edge 45 and a straight edge 46. The inclined edge 45 provides a stop for the bracket 7, when it is swung away from the stitching position, as the portion 26 con tacts therewith as shown in Fig. 2, while the straight edge 46 aifords a stop for the attachment when it is swung into the stitching position (see Fig. 1). \Vhen the guiding device is in the position shown in Fig. 1, it will be seen that the links 37 and 38 assume the position shown in Fig. 1, passing slightly beyond the center line of the pivots 36 and 13 so as to lock the attachment in a fixed position to permit it to positively guide the strip for the stitching operation. While in this locked position the back or part 21 of the binder guide can be shifted to and from the other part or body of the guide 27 by means of the pivoted link 15 by merely pulling outward on the part 18 when the links 15 and 20 will assume the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 or full line position shown in Fig. 2.

The two parts of the binder guide are spaced for the removal and insertion of the work asmay be required.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the binder guide may be closed or opened while the attachment is in or away from the stitching position, and that the attachment can also be swung to and from the stitching position without manipulating or shifting the back or thebinder guide.

In the operationof the device the strip of work 35 is usually made endless by stitching the ends together. The binder guide is ment t8 are then guided in the .U-shaped space $9 of the body mence the stitching operation as at 50. Stitch line 51 of Fig. 5 illustrates how the binder strip is applied to the vest forming the arm-hole. The stitching may be continued around the loop, but at the timethe part 50 reaches the front or receiving end 22 of the binder guide, the guide must be opened and the strip removed to complete the stitching operation. After the loops are applied to the arm-holes then the strip forming the bind ing 52, stitched to the edge of the neck, is inserted in the guide and handled in the same manner as the arm-hole loops, and is guided to stitchthe edge M and also permit one strip to be stitched to the other, as at 53, to form the shoulder straps.

There are various ways that this improved shiftable binder guide may be used for the class of work described and there are also various other waysin which it may be applied to efiect economy in operation, which will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and it will be understood that the various details may be more or less changed without departing from the spirit or scope of'the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the Combination of an attachment connected thereto for shiftable movement, said attachment comprising a pair of alined members one slidable toward and from the other, and a linkage connection between said attachment and the supporting plate.

2. In a sewing machine having a supporting plate. the combination of an attachment connected thereto for shiftable movement, said attachment comprising a pair of alined members one slidable toward andfrom the other, anda linkage connection between said shiftable member and a part of the attach ment.

3. In a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of an attachment connected thereto for shiftable movement, said ttachment comprising a pair of alined members one slidable toward and from the other, a linkage connection between said attachment and the supporting plate, and a linkage connection between said. shiftable member anda part of the attachment.

l. In a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of an attachin readiness to comment connected thereto for shiftable movement, said attachment comprising a pair of members one shiftable toward and from the other, and a linkage connection between said shiftable member and a part of the attachment, said linkage connection comprising a pair of toggle links effective to lock said members in their'operative position.

5. In a sewing machine having a support.- ing plate, the combination of an attachment connected thereto for shiftable movement, said attachment comprising a pair of alined members one 'siftable toward and from the other, and a linkage connection between said attachment and the supporting plate, said linkage connection comprising a pair of levers effective to lock the attachment in its stitching position.

a 6. In a sewing'machine having a supporting plate, the combination of an attachment connected thereto for shiftable movement, said attachment comprising a pair of members one shiftable toward and from the other, a linkage connection between said attachment and-the supporting plate, said linkage connection efiective to lock the attachment in its stitching position, and a linkage connection between said shiftable member and a part of the attachment and also effective to lock the members in their operative position.

7. In a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of a folding guide attachment linked thereto for swinging movement, said attachment comprising a folder guide consisting of a pair of members one shiftable toward. and from the other, means for slidingly supporting the shiftable member, a linkage connection between said shiftable member and a part of the attachment and effective to lock the members together, and a linkage connection between the attachment and the supporting plate and effective to lock the attachment in its stitching position.

8. In a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of a folding guide attachment linked thereto for swinging movement, said attachment comprising a folder guide consisting of a pair of members one shiftable toward and from the other, means for slidingly supporting the shiftable member, a linkage connection between said shiftable member and a part of the attachment and effective to lock the members together, a linkage connection between the attachment and the supporting plate andjeffective to lock theattachment in its stitching position, and mean for limiting the movement of the attachment.

9; In a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of an attachment linked thereto for swinging movement,

said attachment comprising a pair of members one shiftable toward and from the other, means for 'slidingly supporting the'shiftable member, and a linkage connection between said shiftable member and'a part of the attachment.

10. In a sewing machine having a sup porting plate, the combination of a swinging attachment supported by said plate for movement toward and from the stitching position, and comprising a pair of alined members one slidingly supported for movement toward andffrom the-other.

'11. In a. sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of a swinging attachment supported by said plate for movement toward and from the stitching position and comprising a pair of alined members one slidingly supported for movement toward and from the other, and a linkage connection between said sliding member and a part of the attachment.

12. In a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of aswinging attachment supported by said plate for movement toward and from the stitching position and comprising a pair of alined members one slidinglysupported for movement toward and from the other, and a link age connection between said attachment and the supporting plate.

18. In a sewing machine having a sup porting plate, the combination of a swinging attachment supported by said plate for movement toward and from the stitching position and comprising a pair of alined members one slidingly supported for movement toward and from the other, a linkage connection between said sliding member and a part of the attachment,and a linkage connection between the attachment and the sup porting plate.

14L. In a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of a sewing machine attachment comprising a folder guidecomprising a pair of members one shiftable' toward and from the other, a bracketpivotally connected with the plate for swinging movement, a plate slidingly supported by said bracket and connected with the shiftable member of the folder guide, and means pivotally connecting said slide plate with the bracket. i Y 15'. In a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of a sewing machine attachment comprising a' folder guide comprising a pair of members one shiftable toward and from the other, a bracket pivotally connected with the plate for swinging movement, a plate ,slidingly supported by said bracket and connected With the shiftable memberof the folder ouide, and means pivotally connecting said slide plate with the bracket, the connection between the slide plate and the bracket and between the bracket and the supporting plate each com? prising a pair'of pivoted levers.

ii-16. In a" sewing machine "having a sup porting plate, the combination of a sewing machine attachment comprising a folder guide comprising a pair of members one shiftable toward and from the other, a bracket pivotally connected with the plate for swinging movement, a plate slidingly supported by said bracket and connected with the shiftable member of the folder guide, and means pivotally connecting said slide plate with the bracket, the connection between the slide plate and the bracket and between the bracket and the supporting plate each comprising a pair of pivoted levers constructed one to lock the folder guide members in position and the'other to lock the attachment in position.

17. In a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of a sewing machine attachment comprising a folder guide comprising a pair of members one shiftable toward and from the other, a bracket pivotally connected with the plate for swinging movement, a plate slidingly supported by said bracket and connected with the shiftable member of the folder guide, means pivotally connecting said slide plate with the bracket, the connection between the slide plate and thebracket and between the bracket and the supporting plate each comprising a pair of pivoted levers constructed one to lock the folder guide members in position and the other to lock the attachment in position, and a stop for limiting the swinging movement of the attachment. 7

18.111 a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of a sewing machine attachment comprising a folder guide comprising a pair of members one shiftable toward and from the other, a bracket pivotallyv connected with the plate for swinging movement, a plate slidingly supported by said bracket and connected with the shiftable member of the folder guide, means pivotally connecting said slide plate with the bracket, the connection between the slide plate and the bracket and between the bracket and the supporting plate each comprising apair of pivoted levers constructed one to lock the folder guide members in position and the other to lock the attachment in position, and a stop for limiting the swinging movement of the attachment and also effective to position the attachment in its stitching position.

c 19. In a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of a sewing machine attachment for sewing loops to vests and comprising a separable folder guide, a bracket swingingly supported by the supporting plate to permit the attachment to be swung to and from the stitching position, said attachmentincluding a sliding member to which one part of said folder guide is connected, and means connecting said sliding member with thecattachment whereby the folder guides may be opened and closed in any position of the attachment.

20. In a sewing machine having a supporting member, the combination of a sewing machine attachment for sewing loops to vests and comprising a separable folder guide consisting of a substantially U-shaped body member and a substantially U-shaped back member, a pivotally supported bracket to which the body member is rigidly secured, a sliding member supported by said bracket and to which the back member is secured, means connecting said sliding member to the bracket and effective to shift the back member toward and from the body member and also effective to lock the back member in position relatively to the body member, and means connecting the bracket with the supporting member and effective to swing the attachment toward and from the stitching position and also effective to maintain it in such stitching position.

21. In a sewing machine having a supporting member, the combination of a sew-- ing machine attachment for sewing loops to vests and comprising a separable folder guide consisting of a substantially U-shaped body member and a substantially U-shaped back member, a pivotally supported bracket to which the body member is rigidly secured, a sliding member supported by said bracket and to which the back member is secured, means connecting said sliding member to the bracket and effective to shift the back member toward and from the body member and also cfiective to l ck the back member in position relatively to the body member, means connecting the bracket with the sup porting member and effective to swing the attachment toward and from the stitching position and also effective to maintain it in such stitching position, and means for limiting the swinging movement of the attachment in either direction.

22. In a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of a folder guide attachment comprisir-g a. substantial U-shaped body member and a substantially U-shaped back member, a bracket having an extended arm pivotally secured to the supporting plate for swinging movement andto which the body member is rigidly secured. said bracket having a guide-way, a slide plate located in said the back member is secured, a pair of pivotally connected leversrpivotally connected to the slide plate and the bracket for sliding the back member toward and from the body member and also efi ectiveto lock the back member inposition relatively to the body member, a pair of pivotally connected levers vpivotally connecting the attachment to the supportingplate and effective to swing the attachment-toward and from the stitching guide-way and to which position and alsoeffective to lock the attachment in its stitching position, and a twofaced stop carried by the supporting plate and effective to limit the swinging movement of the attachment in either direction.

23. In a sewing machine having a supporting plate, the combination of a folder guide attachment comprising a substantially U-shaped body member and a substantially U-shaped back member, a bracket having an extended arm pivotally secured to the supporting plate for swinging movement and to which the body member is rigidly secured, said bracket having a guide-way, a slide plate located in said guide-Way and to which the back member is secured, a pair of pivotally connected levers pivotally connected to the slide plate and the bracket for sliding the back member toward and from the body member and also effective to lock the back member in position relatively to the body member, a pair 01": pivotally connected levers pivotally connecting the attachment to the supporting plate and efiective to swing the attachment toward and from the stitching position and also effective to lock the attachment in its stitching position, and a twofaced stop carried by the supporting plate and effective to limit the swinging move ment of the attachment in either direction, said body and back members having overlapping extensions to prevent the impinging of the Work in the folder guide.

Signed at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania this 7th day of May, one thousand nine hundred and seventeen.

FREDERICK THOMAS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C." 

